Learn American English with Breaking Bad | Practice English Pronunciation with TV

We’re learning English with TV today. I asked you  

what movies and TV you wanted to study  for English and you said “Breaking Bad”.

Today’s clip is an intense scene that  was recommended by one of my followers  

on Instagram, thank you for suggesting this scene.  

It’s got some great phrases to study.  As always, if you like this video or  

you learn something new, give it a thumbs up and  subscribe with notifications. Thank you so much.

First, let’s look at the scene together. As  we watch, you’ll see on-screen the words we  

will pull out to study together. If you’re not  familiar with the storyline, here are the basics.

Walt is a high school chemistry teacher. He was  diagnosed with cancer and money got really tight.  

If money gets tight, that means you don’t have  a lot of money. It’s hard to pay all your bills.  

So he ended up making the street drug meth.  Turns out with his chemistry background,  

he’s really good at it. He became powerful and  important, this changed him. Now his wife, Skyler,  

she knows he’s got into something but  she doesn’t know the whole picture.  

She wants to involve the police in an attempt to  get Walt out of the situation. Here’s the scene.

Walt, I’ve said it before. If you  are in danger, we go to the police.

No, no, I don’t want to hear about the police!

I do not say that lightly. I know what it  could do to this family. But if it’s the only  

real choice we have, if it’s either that or you  getting shot when you walk in your front door

I don’t want to hear about the police!

You’re not some hardened criminal  Walt! You are in over your head.  

That’s what we tell them! That’s the truth!

No, it’s not the truth.

Of course, it is! A school teacher  cancer desperate for money?

Okay, we’re done.

Roped into working for, unable to even  quit? You told me that yourself Walt.

Jesus, what was I thinking?

Walt, please, let’s both of us stop  trying to justify this whole thing  

and admit you’re in danger.

Who are you talking to right now?

Who is it you think you see?

Do you know how much I make a year?

I mean if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it.  

Do you know what would happen if I  suddenly decided to stop going into work?

A business big enough that it could be listed  on the NASDAQ goes belly up, disappears! It  

ceases to exist without me, no. You clearly don’t  know who you’re talking to so let me clue you in.

I am not in danger Skyler, I am  

the danger. A guy opens his door and  get shot, you think that was me? No.

I am the one who knocks!

Intense right? Now, let’s look at some of the  phrases we learned. Skyler tells Walt he’s not  

a hardened criminal. What is a hardened criminal?  Hardened has a couple of different meanings. It  

means unlikely to change, it means someone who  is toughened by seeing a lot of horrible stuff.  

For example, a war reporter might be hardened. He  isn’t as affected anymore with all the suffering.  

A hardened criminal is a criminal  that doesn’t have remorse,  

doesn’t feel bad for what he does.  He’s used to that way of life.

Skyler is saying, sure Walt is doing something  illegal but he kind of slipped into this crime  

because of his circumstances. He doesn’t want  to continue, he doesn’t want to be a criminal.  

She doesn’t quite understand  his circumstances, does she?

She thinks of him as being a nice guy. A  chemistry teacher trying to do the right thing.

You’re not some hardened criminal Walt!  

You are in over your head. That’s  what we tell them, that’s the truth!

No, it’s not the truth.

She uses the phrase “In over your head”.  

This is an idiom that means a situation has  gotten too complicated for you to handle.

When I was in college, I tested out at  first year Physics. And they put me in an  

upper-level Physics class my freshman year. But I  really didn’t get it. I was definitely in over my  

head so I dropped that class. I actually thought  I want to be a Physics major but even just one  

week of that class was enough to change my mind. I  was so in over my head. Let’s see that clip again.

You’re not some hardened criminal  Walt! You are in over your head.  

That’s what we tell them, that’s the truth!

No it’s not the truth.

Walt doesn’t like that she sees him  as weak. She goes on describing.

A school teacher cancer desperate for money?

Okay, we’re done.

Roped into working for, unable to even quit?

Roped into working. If you’re  roped into something, it means  

you were made to do something you didn’t really  want to do. Or you agreed to do something you  

didn’t actually want to do because someone  kept pestering you or you felt bad saying no.

Can you think of something you were roped into  lately? Anything you think you couldn’t say no to.  

I really do my best at this  point in life not to get  

roped into things. I’ve gotten a lot better  into saying no, sorry I can’t do that.

Skyler thinks Walt fell into this job because  of his circumstances and that he’s trapped in  

it. He feels that he can’t quit. He got roped  into position and he can’t make it change.  

Walt doesn’t like her having this picture of him.

A school teacher cancer desperate for money?

Okay, we’re done.

Roped into working for, unable to even quit?

Let’s keep going.

Jesus, what was I thinking?

Walt, please, let’s both of us stop  

trying to justify this whole  thing and admit you’re in danger.

If you justify something, you explain why  you did it. It’s your reason. We justified  

buying expensive champagne because  we were celebrating our anniversary.

Or, the punishment wasn’t justified. What  the kid did wasn't really all that bad.

Skyler wants him to quit justifying Walt making  drugs. They were justifying it because he was  

really sick. They really needed money. It  was tempting to justify doing something wrong  

that made a lot of money. But she’s  tired of making excuses for it. Of  

coming up with reasons why it’s okay to do  it. She doesn’t feel okay doing it anymore.

Who are you talking to right now?

Who is it you think you see?

Do you know how much I make a year?

I mean if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it.  

Do you know what would happen if I  suddenly decided to stop going into work?

A business big enough that it could  be listed on the NASDAQ goes belly up.

Listed on the NASDAQ.

The NASDAQ is an electronic marketplace for buying  and selling securities. An index that investors  

can track. It's like the Dow. Is it down? is it  up? Did it crash? Did we lose all our savings?  

Walt is saying the company he  works for, the secret company  

making and selling all the  meth is huge. So profitable,  

so much money. It’s equal to the companies listed  on the NASDAQ. If he quits, it goes belly up.

We use this phrase to describe  a business or organization  

when it can’t make it financially anymore.  When it goes bankrupt or it has to close  

down. A lot of business went belly up in the  pandemic. Where does this phrase come from?  

Think of a fish. If it’s dead, it floats  in the water on its side or belly up.

Do you know what would happen if I  suddenly decided to stop going into work?

A business big enough that it could be listed  on the NASDAQ goes belly up, disappears! It  

ceases to exist without me, no. You clearly don’t  know who you’re talking to so let me clue you in.

Wow. I do not want to make Walt mad. Let me clue  you in. This means let me help you understand  

something you don’t understand. Let me give you  the information you’re missing. So, you can use  

it as a phrasal verb. Why are you so upset?  Let me clue you in. But also as an adjective.  

I’m not clued in. Or, he’s really clued in  to the kinds of toys kids like. He gets it.

You clearly don’t know who you’re  talking to so let me clue you in.

I am not in danger Skyler, I am  

the danger. A guy opens his door and  get shot, you think that was me? No.

I am the one who knocks!

I’m the one who knocks. He’s the one  on the other side of the door knocking.  

Not the one inside in danger which is her  idea of him. He set her straight. He’s  

clued her in. She has no idea  who he is or what he is doing.

Have you seen this show? I watched it a few years  ago and I really liked it. Violence, graphic,  

I didn’t like that part but I did love how the  characters change and the situations evolved.  

Now, pick a scene from TV or movies,  

put it in the comments below. What other  clips would you like to study English with?

Thank you so much for learning with me. Keep it  going now with this video and don’t forget to  

subscribe with notifications. I make new videos  every Tuesday and I love to see you back here.  

That’s it and thanks so much  for using Rachel’s English.